Burroughs was born November 1, 1917 in St. Rose, Louisiana, but raised in Chicago, Illinois. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Chicago Teacher’s College in 1946 and her Master of Arts degree in education from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1948.

She taught in the Chicago Public School System from 1940 to 1968 and worked as a professor of humanities at Kennedy-King College from 1969 to 1979. In 1961, Burroughs founded the DuSable Museum of African-American History and served as director of the museum until 1985. That year, she was appointed a commissioner of the Chicago Park District. As a poet, Burroughs published “ What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black?” in 1968 and “Africa, My Africa” in 1970.

This blog uses affiliate programs for monetization, which means when you click on links to various sites and products that are recommended in posts and make a purchase, this can result in a commission that is credited to this site. Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon services LLC. This content is provided 'as is' and is subject to change or removal at any time.